The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-21

seemed to be a hitch at Madison. The bill for
the repeal of the law had been lntrodu ced in the
Legislature and referred to committee that
was. with one two exceptions, thought TO be
favorable to the railroads. Still they did not
report, and the time for adjournment was close.
The syndicate got badly nervous. and almost
ratified. They held an enormous quantity Of the
stock. and unless the law was repealed many of
them would be financially ruined. julius Wads-
worth. vice. president of the road living in New
York then. appeared upon the scene, and almost
daily wired Mr. Mitchell, the burden of his song
being:
Our friends are in terrible state of anx-
iety. Is there any possible danger of the COM
mittee not reporting in favor of repealF
"All Mr.. Mitchell could do was TO repeat the
story that his advIces were that everything
would come out all right.
.After several reassuring messages of this
sort. the syndicate got their second wind, and
formed another pool to put the stock to seventy
five. 1t was then selling at about sixty. The
members of the old guard were given the pref
erence. and got the largest slice of the orange.
The skies at Madison began to clear, and every
thing was moving along without a jar.
After the second pool was formed a few out
slders at Milwaukee were quietly given the tip
Such men as G. J. kershaw, the man accredited
with being the brains and chief manipulator of
the syndicate now bullng wheat at Chicago,
got in for a few thousand shares S. S. Merrell,
general manager; Hub Atkins, afterward assist
ant general manager; Gov Bill Young, David
Ferguson, cashier of Mitchelrs Bank; John
johnson, his nephew, and few other Scotch
cronies of MitchelPs were taken in out of the
wet These outsiders bought through their
brokers, and the latter soon saw there was som
thing I'D. and advised ther other customers
ouy St. Paul. The stock had by this time ad
vanced to rs, thirty cent rise from where the
original syndicate started to buy, and the
profits. of course. up into the millions, but
everything was so auspcious that it was deter
mined to put the price to 80.
Slowly, but surely the stock climbed the
1xx~ A. 80 - oh1l .-hA
the Potter law was repealed. At once there
general scramble by outsiders Every specu-
lator in Wisconsin and good many elsewhere
thought the security was cheap at 1OO The
stock almost Immediately went to eighty five,
where it remained for short time, the syndicate
unloading at between eighty three and eighty
four. Soon the country discovered that they had
been caught mapping, and in their anxiety to ges
out the price gradually forced down to
seventy, where it held stationary for the rest OF
tine winter.
''Mr. Mitchelrs profits on the syndicate deals
were over 81 000 900 How much he and the
other members made out of their private trades
is not known, but it must have been an enor-
nous amount That the deal was not given up
when the stock at 80 owing wholly to
Mitchell's bulldog tenacity and his knowledge of
the personnel of the contingent at Madison.
This is how Mitchell came to build the
Chamber of Commerce OF coure, he had
| money enough before he went into the DEAL but
he was just then having erected palatial build
Ing TO De USED Dy MS oank anu as olHco neau'
quarters for the st. Paul road and he did not
care to invest any more money just then. The
bonanza he struck, however. gave him an op-
portunity to benefit himself and the community
at the expense of the latter.
mir. Mitchell has since that time been in
many other heavy deals. but none of them re-
curing the money stamina of the one men
toned. He has always made money, and his
| friends wonder what will become of his riches
when he has passed away. His fortune is vari-
ously estimated at amounts ranging all the way
from $l5,OO0,000 to $70000,0O0 He has
but one child. a son. and it is hardly
| probable he will leave all his wealth to
| this gentleman John Johnston. his nephew
| and confidential man, will undoubtedly come in
| for large slice. If his wife gets the bulk of
his money she. undoubtedly. will devote large
sum to some great and deserving charity en-
/ terprise that will for all time perpetuate their
names. Mr. Mitchell has house full of rarr
and valuable paintings. and as his wife's tastes
lean toward art, it is barely possible she
may make their DICT ures the nucleus for public
gallery of art and endow it with few OF the
many millions"